Tibet's traditional sports are the product of the region's particular natural environment and the people's customs. Sporting events and entertainments, some competitions, some performances, were connected with the seasons and festivals of the Tibetan calendar. Today some of these traditional sports have been standardized and included in modem competitive sports. Principal traditional sports include the following:

Horse Racing.Horse races are held every year in the northern grasslands and in some other farming and herding areas. The ordinarily dressed participants, mainly young people and adults, race bareback over a ten-kilometer course.

Horsemanship.Skills on horseback are celebrated here, such as mounted marksmanship or snatching a hada silk ceremonial scarf from the ground at full gallop. The participants dress in fancy clothing from an earlier era including big red hats and ride gaily decorated horses festooned with copper bells.

Polo.This ancient sport, wherein riders maneuver a ball around a course with the aid of a mallet, can trace its history to at least the early 8th century when Tang Dynasty Emperor Zhongzong commanded his palace polo team to join in a competition with a squad accompanying Tibetan envoys to Chang'an, the Tang capital.

Archery.This sport, derived from ancient hunting and military practices, is today most popular in the Mainling, Medog and Zayu area of southeastern Tibet. One Tibetan form of the art is somewhat unusual. The archer shoots an arrow, its clubbed arrowhead pierced with wind channels, high in the air. The air rushing through the channels creates a high-pitched sound, the so-called whistling arrow.

Wrestling.Two combatants dressed in robes secured with broad belts grasp each other about the waist, each seeking to throw the other to the ground. The feet may not be used, only the hands and the strength of the upper body.

Two-Man lug-of-War.In this version of tug-of-war two ends of a rope are tied together to form a great loop. Each of the two competitors harnesses himself to the rope, passing it between his legs and up over his shoulder, then, facing in opposite directions, the two struggle forward on their hands and knees, each trying to pull his adversary over a centre line.

Yak Race.Yak races are a special favorite of the Tibetans. Every year during the eighth month comes the Ongkor (Bumper Harvest) Festival. The people dress in their best finery and sing and dance to celebrate the harvest. And, not incidentally, they match their skills in yak racing. The yaks' massive heads are adorned with red flowers, their backs caparisoned with ornamented saddles. The yak jockeys' whiphands fly as they urge their mounts still faster towards the finish line.